OVERVIEW

In modern western societies, where considerable progress towards equality with men has been done and where women enjoy liberties and opportunities that our great grandmothers would’ve never thought possible, we can still see that the standards of moral, ethics, social and economical capabilities greatly benefit men over women.

Women around the world have been working for centuries to remedy this situation, sometimes with sweat and tears. Women, especially young women continue to challenge their position in their society, finding opportunities to become active members of their community, first via religious and cultural roles and later as leaders, educators and successful professionals.

Even today, young women continue to fight for equal rights. Perhaps for young women the struggle is an internal one, psychological, moral, physical. They may involve problems with your family, your culture or your education.

The problems can go from self-esteem or body image in a society that exploit women’s images to survival issues involving war, poverty and religion in areas of conflict around the world.

Women from developed countries and who enjoy more liberties and opportunities are in the minority. The majority of women live in developing nations live mostly in a state of subjection and despair.

They struggle to survive in societies where cattle have more rights than they do and where there are no alternatives for them whatsoever. They are condemned to survive, depend on men and continue to procreate in the worst of conditions. Most women in developing countries are malnourished, cannot read or write and many others are forced to labor, physical and sexual abuse.

Men are given whatever little choices are available over women, are favored even from the time of birth and have preferential treatment, even under the law.

Culture, socio-economical status and religious control have been for centuries responsible for the repression, ignorance and overall low-quality of life that women in those areas suffer. Still in the 21st we can find societies were women are forced to marry total strangers, bear children before they reach their teenage years and suffer countless abuses if they dare complain.

They are not allowed to be educated, hold jobs or leave the house without company. In areas where some liberties are enforced you can still find women controlled by a chauvinist-dominated society that bluntly determines how far they can go in live and when.

Mothers, even in modern and open societies have the best intentions to raise strong, independent men and women but their conditioning and own experiences sometimes get in the way and lead them to raise children with a double standard. Boys are raised to be strong leaders and to expect to some day find a woman that will care for them like their mothers did before.

Women are raised to be caregivers, to take care of our husbands and children. Anything else may be secondary.

In developed nations, the reality today less obvious but latent, even in the workplace: Women’s salaries are 75% of what men’s salaries of their same education and experience are. Yet, more than 80% of all college graduates are women. Is this fair?

Even the biggest, cockiest chauvinist will tell you that is not. Are we doing something to remedy it? It doesn’t seem like we are. Don’t expect many men to be outraged. Statistics such as these clearly benefit them so why would they do anything to change it. That would be rather silly, wouldn’t it?

It is up to us, women, to get angry (not necessarily mean) and speak out, demand what’s fair and make it happen.

Inequality and unfairness has been part of history since the beginning of time. Slavery and later segregation were accepted beliefs in past societies and therefore never to be questioned or changed. But when a group within that society is negatively affected by the rules, changes that will amend these rules are not an option but a necessity.

In the same way, women’s rights to vote, to earn money, to have a voice were changes made in a society that previously thought there was no room in it for them. Less than 100 years ago women have almost as little rights as slaves had back in the 1700’s.

Those times have changed for the better but we can still do more.

After thousands of years of inequality, we have arrive at the point where shouldn’t have other choice but to say “Enough!” Even the least objective individual will have to agree that the status of women throughout history is extremely unfair and wrong.

The main difference between past times and today is that we have now the chance to make a change, a big change in ourselves that will help us reach all of our goals. We owe it to all those women that came before us and that helped us have all the opportunities we have today.

You, who have the means, freedom and the will to read these pages and take the challenge, can make a difference for ourselves and all those women around the world that are still waiting for equal opportunities.

Women have the chance, now more than ever, to make significant changes that will improve their physical, personal, mental, spiritual and professional lives. And the most significant changes must come from within us.

Your chances of success at living a happy, free and productive life greatly depends on where you were born, your family’s cultural values and your personal ability to conquer any limitations imposed by others and your own conditioning.

Even in free societies, issues like peer pressure, body images, sex and violence are constantly threatening to take you away from your plans and goals.

The statistics are real and disturbing:

• One in five high school teenagers reports that she has been physically or sexually abused.

• Girls are now equally or more likely than boys to smoke, depending on age.

• Today's girls are 15 times more likely than their mothers to have begun using illicit drugs by age 15.

• Self-confidence declines with age for women, but not for men

• Even though the teen pregnancy rate in the United States is declining, it is still the highest rate for teen pregnancies in the industrialized world.

• 8 million people in the United States suffer from eating disorders. 99% of those are women.

• The unemployment rate for high school dropouts is 39.9%

Nobody has to be part of any of these statistics, especially you. We firmly believe that you can with discipline and train your mind, body and spirit to make choices that will benefit you in the short and long term.